National Analytical Study
on Racist Violence and Crime
RAXEN Focal Point for SPAIN
DISCLAIMER: This study has been compiled by the National Focal Point of the European
Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC). The opinions expressed by the
author/s do not necessarily reflect the opinion or position of the EUMC. No mention of any
authority, organisation, company or individual shall imply any approval as to their standing and
capability on the part of the EUMC. This study is provided by the National Focal Point as
information guide only, and in particular does not constitute legal advice.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The 2002 report on racial violence and discrimination in Spain analyses whether this type
of violence has increased over the last year and the causes of this increase.
When analysing specific examples of violence, one of the difficulties encountered has
been distinguishing between violence in general and racial violence in particular, that is,
the type of violence which is motivated by racial discrimination or xenophobia. As a
subcategory of violence in general, it is necessary to examine cases where only foreigners
are involved. Although this does not seem quite to sit with the idea that we have of racial
violence, it is particularly relevant because both the attacker and the victim are foreigners
and the reporting in the media of these cases contributes to reinforce the mistaken belief
that immigration and violence are related.
From the data available we have been able to conclude that violence in general has
continued to increase during 2003 and, most certainly, there has been an increase in the
cases of violence in which foreigners have been involved, both as attackers and as
victims. The data also leads us to the conclusion that racial or xenophobic violence
continues to increase, almost in tandem with the increase in immigration. Discrimination
against gypsies, which has existed in Spain for years, continues to exist.
The media are perpetually referring to cases of violence in which immigrants are
involved, whether as victims or as attackers, and this is producing a two-pronged
response from society: on the one hand, there is a media-driven perception that
immigration is causing an increase in violence; on the other, those who reject racial
violence and call for the protection of foreigners who already live or are arriving in Spain
are becoming more vociferous. However, and since bad and sensationalist news sells
more than good news, these movements in defence of foreigners do not receive as much
media cover as would be desirable.
The number of citizens is increasing who, feeling frightened by the constant news about
violence in which in one way or another foreigners are involved, think it would not be
strange if in the future a xenophobic political party such as Le Pen’s in France should
appear in Spain. The torrent of news of violence in which foreigners participate
contributes to the rejection of groups of immigrants, particularly of single men, and to
their marginalisation. This marginalisation prevents normal integration into Spanish
society and, in turn, contributes to the increase in violence in general and to the rejection
of immigrants by society.
When analysing the increase in violence in Spain over the last few years, it is also
important to consider the new types of violence that are developing, such as gangs and
mafias of people traffickers for cheap labour and prostitution.
It is important not to ignore those more subtle and less apparent forms of racial violence,
such as denying access to public places to some foreigners. This type of discrimination,
which has been present in Spain for many years, is not exclusively racial or xenophobic
and when targeted against native Spaniards has more to do with class.
3
The fight against racial violence needs to be addressed from various angles. Firstly, it is
important to tackle institutionalised racism; then, it is necessary to educate society and
raise awareness about xenophobia and racism to remove the perception entrenched in a
sector of society frightened by constant references to violence. Thirdly, resources need to
be made available to those communities to which most immigrants flow because without
the necessary means to help the less affluent people, be they Spanish or foreign, integrate
into society, get work, study and have access to public services, they will be condemned
to marginalisation and, to a degree, to crime and prostitution as means of survival.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive Summary ............................................................................................................. 3
Table of contents ................................................................................................................. 5
Glossary of Terms................................................................................................................ 6
1.
Introduction........................................................................................................... 7
2.
Short overview of past and current political/cultural situation related to the
theme of the study ................................................................................................ 9
3.
Concise description of the current legal situation related to the theme of
the study............................................................................................................. 12
3.1.
The Spanish Constitution ................................................................................... 12
3.2.
The Criminal Code.............................................................................................. 13
3.3.
Law on Foreign Status........................................................................................ 14
3.4.
Legislative initiatives........................................................................................... 14
3.5.
Case law............................................................................................................. 15
4.
Theoretical and methodological approach for analysing data............................. 17
5.
Description and analysis of existing and non-existing data and sources ............ 19
5.1.
Statistics ............................................................................................................. 19
5.2.
Legal texts .......................................................................................................... 20
5.3.
Case law............................................................................................................. 20
5.4.
Reports............................................................................................................... 20
5.5.
Press .................................................................................................................. 22
5.6.
Web sites............................................................................................................ 26
6.
Analysis of strategies, initiatives and good practicies for reducing racism and
supporting diversity............................................................................................. 26
7.
Summary and conclusions ................................................................................. 30
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GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Autonomous Community: Political and territorial division of Spain. There are a total of
17 Autonomous Communities in Spain. Each AC has its own local government and
parliament that can and must legislate on those matters that the Constitution has declared
as not being of the exclusive competence of the central Spanish Government.
Constitutional Tribunal: Court of justice that deals exclusively with Constitutional
matters, including the protection of the fundamental rights and freedoms.
Criminal Code: Piece of organic legislation which establishes what acts, actions and
omissions amount to an offence deserving punishment, and the measure of punishment
applicable to each crime. For an act, action or omission to be a crime, it must be in the
Criminal Code. All other acts, actions or omissions not so contained may be an
administrative or a civil wrong, but are not a crime.
Discrimination: Different treatment afforded to foreigners who are in exactly the same
situation as Spanish nationals, or same treatment afforded to Spanish nationals and
foreigners whose different circumstances would justify a diverse treatment. The Law on
Foreign Status, for its own purposes, defines discrimination as “any act which, directly or
indirectly, implies a distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference against a foreigner on
the grounds of race, colour, ascendancy or national or ethnic origin, religious convictions
and practices, and the objective or effect of which is to destroy or limit the recognition or
the exercise, on an equal basis, of the human rights and the political, economic, social or
cultural fundamental freedoms”.
Foreigner: For the purposes of this report, a foreigner is considered to be a non-Spanish
national., Immigrant: A person who has settled in Spain, but who is not Spanish native.
Law: Secondary piece of legislation which that deals with all matters other than those
which must necessarily be legislated for by organic law. Laws are approved by simple
majority of the Congress.
Law on Foreign Status: Generic term by which is known the Law on the rights and
liberties applying to foreigners and on their integration into society, which was first
published in 1985 and has been amended several times since, twice in 2000 and again in
2003.
Ministry of Interior (Home Office): Government department charged with the
maintenance of law and order, including, amongst others, immigration control, nationality
and residence issues, as well as with criminal, penitentiary and police issues.
Minor: A person who has not yet attained the age of 18, the age of criminal responsibility
in Spain.
Organic Law: Secondary piece of legislation that deals with fundamental rights and
public freedoms, Local Statutes, electoral systems and any other matters specifically
determined by the Constitution. An organic law can only be passed, repealed or amended
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with the absolute majority of the Congress. An Organic Law may not regulate matters
that can be regulated by simple Law.
Public authorities: Governmental bodies, whether central, autonomous or municipal.
Public opinion: The prevailing or popular belief or view that can be gathered from the
media, polls, surveys and similar methods for assessing views.
Racial violence: In this report, it refers to violent acts motivated by the victim’s race or
national origin.
Spanish Constitution: Piece of legislation in which are enshrined the political principles
on which the Kingdom of Spain is governed. It is the primary source of legislation in
Spain and all other secondary sources must respect its contents.
Violence: Includes physical attacks as well as insults, social exclusion, offences,
vexatious behaviour, refusal of a right or entitlement.
1.
INTRODUCTION
The aims of this report, which updates the data set out in the 2002 report on racial
violence, are as follows:
•
•
•
•
•
To point out, within the context of violence in society, those cases which are
considered to be racial violence, as defined in Section 2.
To report on opinion trends in society and on the relationship that, according
to public opinion and public authorities, there exists between immigration and
crime.
To explain current legislation in force the specific object of which is to tackle
and punish racial violence.
To explain the legal initiatives which, directly or indirectly, relate to racial
violence.
To use examples taken from the media to explain the type of violence to
which immigrants and ethnic minorities are subjected.
The main difficulty when analysing the data available has been the lack of systematic
studies on racial violence, so we have had to consider a variety of independent reports
prepared by a variety of independent organisations preoccupied with the issues of racial
violence. We have also considered the news published by the media which, inevitably,
focus mainly on the most scandalous items, rather than on the day-to-day problems and
forms of moderate but persistent violence against immigrants.
7
To put in context the changes undergone by Spanish society in the last twenty years, a
few facts on immigration are included below, extracted from the Foreign Status Statistics
Yearbook 20021:
There are 1,448,671 foreigners registered as living in Spain, which amounts to 3.2% of
the population. Of those, 538,144 (35.5%) are European and the rest have arrived from
the American continent (28.7%), Africa (27.7%) and Asia (7.9%). In the first six months
of 2003, the number of persons from outside Spain increased by 124,670. All of the
above have a valid resident permit, but it is estimated that only 900,000 of them do also
have a valid work permit.
Since 1996, the number of foreigners resident in Spain has tripled. This increase has been
particularly noticeable amongst the Moroccan community, which with 282,432
immigrants is the largest foreign group, the Ecuadorian community with 115,301 people
and the British, with 90,091 residing in Spain.
The average age of foreigners from the E.U. is 44, for those of African origin it is 29 and
33 for Latin Americans.
Immigrants are mainly men, although lately the amount of women has increased to make
45 per cent of the total foreign population. Of the women, 56% come from South
America and, of those, 72% are from Brazil. Their main occupation is as home help.
The clearest indication of the fact that immigration is now an established trend is the
increase in the number of births amongst foreign women and the number of foreign
children starting primary school. In 202, 43,469 children were born of foreign mothers,
which amounted to 10.44% of the total number of births in Spain. One in every four was
born to a Moroccan woman.
In the school year 2001-2002, 201,518 foreign children, or 2.76% of the total, registered
for primary or secondary school in Spain. About 1% of the university students (14,414 in
total) were foreign.
The Autonomous Communities with the most foreign residents are, in order of
importance, Catalonia, Madrid, Andalusia, Valencia, the Canaries and the Balearic
Islands.
In 2002, there were 6,309 applications for asylum. In decreasing order of importance, the
applicants were from Nigeria, Cuba, Colombia, Algiers and Sierra Leone.
1
www.mir.es/dgei/documentos/anuario (12-7-2003)
8
2.
SHORT OVERVIEW OF PAST AND CURRENT
POLITICAL/CULTURAL SITUATION RELATED
TO THE THEME OF THE STUDY
During 2003 the social and political debate placed a particular emphasis on the issue of
crime and lack of security in the streets, a subject that, as became apparent during the
electoral campaign leading to the local elections held on 25 May 2003.
The issue of the increasing concern about crime resurfaced again during the electoral
campaign leading to the local elections in Madrid on 26 October 2003, when there were
numerous references, particularly from the Partido Popular (conservative), to street
violence and the presence of police in the street, (newspaper La Razón, of 9 October
2003).
Some politicians have asked that xenophobic politicians be punished at the May elections,
as reported in the press on 12/05/2003 Catalonia: , a candidate for mayor in the city of
Barcelona with the left-wing green party, ICV-EUiA, asked the electorate to punish those
political parties who show xenophobic behaviour and link immigration with crime. She
referred, in particular, to the Popular Party and its candidate, as an example of attitudes
that ought to be rejected, while promising that her party would actively fight against
them.
At the same time as this campaign was developing, the Minister of Interior, , reported the
crime statistics2. The Minister stated that crime in Madrid has decreased by 1.21% with
respect to last year, although homicides and smaller offences are on the increase. He
attributed most of the violent deaths to score settling and revenge killing amongst
organised gangs.
According to the Minister, from January to October 2003 there were 83 homicides just in
Madrid, compared to 66 during the whole of 2002. However, the figures reported by the
press and the parties in opposition are rather higher and point to 90 violent deaths, as they
include those deaths caused in confrontations with the police.
An MP of the leading opposition socialist party, PSOE, questioned the Minister with
respect to a poll in Madrid according to which 53.7% of the population believe that crime
in the streets is the major cause of concern for citizens. He added: “According to the data
published by the Ministry itself, homicides have increased by 39.1%. Figures are clear in
the Community of Madrid: in 1999 there were 60 violent deaths, 64 in 2000, 66 in 2001,
71 in 2002 and 93 so far in 2003, with part of the year still left to run”. For this reason,
the PSOE member suggested that an agency, commission or institute should be created to
evaluate and monitor crime. This body should include representatives from the Ministry
of Interior, the Statistics National Institute, the Public Prosecutor Office, the Autonomous
Communities and the local councils, «so that everyone may work on the basis of
objective data» (newspaper La Voz de Galicia, 16 October 2003).
2
Senate’s session of 15 October 2003.
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During his presentation, the Minister highlighted the increase in the number of police and
civil guards on the street and the creation of a new group devoted to the investigation of
organised crime. He also referred to legal reforms, such as the “expulsion of immigrants
who come here to commit crimes”. Additionally, the Minister attributed most violent
deaths to organised criminal gangs settling scores and revenge killings.
The Director General of the Police, said that although Spain is not a xenophobic country,
it must be accepted that “some crimes are linked to illegal immigration”, something that
“is not a statement, but a confirmation of the facts”. He also reported that of the more
than 90 violent deaths that have happened in Madrid, “60% of the victims were
foreigners”. Thus, he added, “as most of these foreign victims were illegal immigrants”,
this confirms that “the facts point to crimes which take place outside of Spain and which
then result in revenge killings or score settling in Spain”.
The association between crime and immigration is also reflected in the press, in editorials
and opinion articles. For instance, the director of the newspaper La Razón, stated in his
editorial of 21 October 2003 that “70% of those killed in violent attacks in Spain are
either foreigners or their deaths have been caused with the involvement of immigrants”.
In turn, the news on TV has reported that 50% of the deaths are related to drugs.
Furthermore, citizens wake up every day with news of killings in broad daylight, in
central and well-populated parts of town and, in some cases, shootings from cars or the
killing of children at the school entrance. In most of the cases, the victims are foreigners.
There is no agreement as to the actual figures and it is difficult to obtain all the facts
about the types of crimes committed and the groups or persons who commit them.
However, the comments heard in the street and those made by politicians, particularly
during the electoral campaign, have gone more or less along the lines mentioned above.
The recently elected President of the Autonomous Community of Madrid, on being
interviewed and asked about the 50% increase in homicides in Madrid and its link to
illegal mafias, commented as follows: “There is a link in the case of assassinations. But
one cannot link crime with immigration. Most [foreigners] come here to work. Another
issue is that mafias who traffic with people take advantage of the situation” (newspaper
La Razón, 24 October 2003).
In turn, a conservative candidate to the presidency of the Autonomous Community of
Catalonia, recently criticised the policies on immigration put forward by most of the left
wing parties, and said that: “Contrary to what it may seem, the [policy of granting papers
to every immigrant] is not the best way to protect immigrants and their rights, but on the
contrary, it protects the mafias which illegally traffic with people”. He added “I cannot
think of a better way of turning immigration into a real problem for everyone. If we
follow the route of granting papers to everyone or legalising everyone’s position, in the
end immigration will become a very serious problem that will generate racism,
xenophobia and will overwhelm all of us, and will overwhelm society and its capacity to
integrate immigrants in the right way... We must be aware that there is not room for
everyone; of course legal immigration is welcome, as far as we can cope with it and can
guarantee the integration of immigrants in society”. Nevertheless, the candidate
considered that immigration is ‘positive’, because without immigration we would not be
able to support our society. “If we deal with the issue properly, we should be able to
guarantee social cohesion”, he said (newspaper La Razón, 5 November 2003).
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In general, the elections in May 2002 did not produce surprising results anywhere in
Spain, with the exception of a few small villages in Catalonia, as follows from the piece
of news published in EL PAÍS on 27 May 2002: The xenophobic political group
‘Plataforma por Cataluña’ has obtained four councillors, who may be in a position to
determine who will be the next mayor. In an exercise of self-examination, the rest of the
political parties wondered what has driven over 2,500 people in these villages to vote for
a party whose only motto was: For a better control of immigration. In Vic, Plataforma
por Cataluña had 7.5% of the votes, with one councillor.
When the result of the Swiss elections was known, the following commentary was
published: “Switzerland has not voted in favour of the extreme right, but against
immigration” (editorial by José M. Ansón, newspaper La Razón, 21 October 2003).
The press, television and radio stations refer relatively frequently to the violent acts, some
of them really monstrous, to which immigrants are subjected. This type of violence also
causes dismay to the Spanish population in general who, for the most part, live quite
happily alongside immigrants. During the month of October the trial of the so-called ‘the
Maremagnum case’ has been reported on a daily basis. The background to the case is as
follows: the door keepers at a disco prevented a South American man entering the
premises and after severely hitting and kicking him, he was thrown in the sea, where he
drowned. The video scenes were broadcasted in every channel on various occasions,
causing revulsion.
In contrast with the above, it is also necessary to refer to the different response given by
Spanish society in general depending on whether a violent crime in which the victim is
Spanish has been committed by a European from the EU or a white North American, or
by an immigrant from a poor country, such as Morocco or Nigeria. This, for instance, was
the case in the rape and killing of a teenage girl in a small town in Malaga at the
beginning of September. The confessed killer is an Englishman with a serious criminal
record. Although the population was horrified about the violence of the crime, there have
been no serious references to the fact that the killer was a ‘foreigner’ (even if his
nationality was referred to) and, as it is normal, no-one has asked for measures to be
taken against the English community living in the area. It would not be foolish to think
that if the same violent crime had been committed by, let’s say, a Moroccan man, the
Spanish society would have been scandalised. The latter is not an outrageous conclusion
because, in fact, we have witnessed it. When last June a Greek woman visiting Madrid
was knifed by a Moroccan minor, all the media widely reported the news; however, when
a young man from North Africa was severely beaten and caned to near death in the Casa
de Campo (the green belt surrounding Madrid), it hardly made the news.
Along with the news of violent crime against immigrants, normally reported in the media,
one should not forget the daily abuse to which immigrants and other ethnic minorities,
including Spanish gypsies, can be subjected. They are insulted, denied access to public
places and even to municipal or state-owned facilities. Most of these incidents go
unnoticed as there rarely is a record of them and they are only known to those upon
whom they are inflicted.
The charitable organisation, Caritas, has recently alerted to the increase in xenophobia
and social rejection of immigrants in Spain. This statement contrasts, however, with the
11
findings of an official poll in the Basque Country, according to which 60% of its citizens
are tolerant.
3.
CONCISE DESCRIPTION OF THE CURRENT
LEGAL SITUATION RELATED TO THE THEME
OF THE STUDY
Before proceeding to analyse the subject, it is necessary to clarify that the term ‘violence’
is understood to include not just physical violence, but also any discriminatory act or
action, insult or affront. In the term ‘racial’ we include also ideas and religion, ethnic
background, xenophobia, ideology and personal or social circumstances.
Racial violence as a specific form of violence requires the study of various legal
provisions: those that relate to violence in general and those relating to discrimination on
the grounds of birth, race, sex, religion, opinion or any other personal or social condition.
Given that the Spanish Constitution of 1978 is the fundamental and primary source of law
in Spain from which the rest of the laws derive their validity, a methodical study requires
a first reference to its text, to determine the way things ought to be. However, it is the
Criminal Code of 1995 that deals with the practical consequences of violence in general
and racial violence in particular.
3.1.
THE SPANISH CONSTITUTION
Various articles are relevant, but the report focuses on two of them:
Firstly, article 10 must be noted. It opens the section relating to fundamental freedoms
and obligations, stating in paragraph two that “the laws relating to fundamental rights and
freedoms recognised by the Constitution shall be interpreted in accordance with the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international treaties and agreements on the
subject that have been ratified by Spain”. This way, the following provisions of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights are incorporated into the Spanish legal system by
reference:
Article 2: “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration,
without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or
other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status”.
Article 7: “All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to
equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination
in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination”.
12
Despite the above it is worth noting that article 14, which opens Chapter II, dedicated to
rights and freedoms, and standing on its own, provides that Spaniards are the ones who
“are equal before the law, and there cannot prevail any discrimination on the grounds of
birth, race, sex, religion, opinion or any other social or personal condition or
circumstance”.
3.2.
THE CRIMINAL CODE
The Criminal Code does not typify racial violence as a separate crime, but the fact that a
crime or misdemeanour has been committed for a racial motive (or xenophobic, religious,
or otherwise discriminatory reason) is deemed an aggravating circumstance. On the other
hand, the Criminal Code does define as criminal various conducts consisting of provoking
racial discrimination, or denying a right or benefit to someone who is entitled to it on the
grounds of race, xenophobia, etc. Besides the sections specifically referring to racial
issues, there are several sections that refer to the abuse by a person of a position of power,
or authority or superiority and which aggravate the penalty attaching to the crime. The
existence of these aggravating circumstances has been found to apply in various cases in
which the victim was a foreigner or of ethnic minority background, but not in others
which, at first sight, seemed to be entirely motivated by racism.
Section 22.2 defines the following aggravating circumstance: “the commission of a crime
for racist or anti-Semitic motives or for some other discriminatory reason relating to the
ideology, religion or beliefs of the victim, his or her race, ethnic background or nation of
origin, illness or disability that he or she may suffer”. When this aggravating
circumstance is found to exist, the penalty applicable to the specific crime is applied in its
more severe form.
The Spanish Criminal Code distinguishes between crimes and misdemeanours (or lesser
offences), depending on the seriousness of the facts or the resulting consequences. All
acts relating to racism, xenophobia and discrimination are considered crimes.
The following are highlighted as specific forms of racial crimes. They are included in a
separate chapter devoted to criminal offences affecting the exercise of fundamental rights
and freedoms.
Section 510.1 provides that: “Those who provoke discrimination, hatred or violence
against groups or associations, for racist, anti-Semitic or any other motive relating to
ideology, religion, beliefs, family situation, belonging to another race or ethnic group, or
because of national origin... shall be punished with imprisonment for one to three years
and a fine of six to twelve months”.
Paragraph 2 of section 510 also punishes the dissemination of injurious information about
groups or associations in relation to their ideology, religion or beliefs, the belonging of
their members to an ethnic group or race or their national origin. This paragraph is
particularly important because it sets boundaries to the freedom of expression, enshrined
in the Constitution, and by reference to which xenophobe and anti-Semitic organisations
have tried to protect the propagation of their ideas.
13
Sections 511 and 512 punish those who deny a person, because of race, ideology, religion
or beliefs, ethnic background or race or national origin, a benefit to which that person is
entitled.
Section 515.5 criminalises those associations that promote discrimination, hatred or
violence against persons, groups or associations by reason of their ideology, religion or
beliefs, the fact that one of their members or one of them belongs to an ethnic group, race
or nation.
3.3.
LAW ON FOREIGN STATUS
The Law on Foreign Status, as amended, includes a brief section on anti-discriminatory
measures. It gives a definition of ‘discrimination’ and states that certain behaviour by
persons in authority, civil servants, employers, business people or any other person will
necessarily constitute acts of discrimination. This law then goes on to say that
discriminatory practices can be challenged in the courts of justice, both in ordinary
proceedings and, also, in proceedings before the Constitutional Tribunal.
The Law on Foreign Status is analysed in detail in the Legislation Report.
3.4.
LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVES
The ‘Programme against crime’, launched by the Government on 12 September 2002,
considers a number of organisational and legal measures aimed at reinforcing security in
the streets, tackling domestic violence and promoting the integration of foreigners into the
Spanish society. Furthermore, certain legal reforms have either been implemented during
the last few months or are currently underway:
Citizen’s Safety, Domestic Violence and Integration into Society of Foreigners:
Organic Law 11/2003, introducing specific measures relating to citizen’s safety, domestic
violence and integration into society of foreigners was published in the State Official
Gazette no. 234/2003, of 30 September and came into force on 1 October 20033.
Certain provisions have also been implemented in the criminal code and criminal
procedure law:
Penitentiary Laws: On the 2nd of July came into force Organic Law 7/2003, of 30 June,
which introduced measures to ensure that criminal sentences are served effectively and in
full. Organic Law 6/2003, of 30 June, which modified Organic Law 1/1979, of 26
September, on the Penitentiary System, also came into force on the 2nd of July4.
Quick Trials: This is a new form of quick trial for certain crimes (such as theft, robbery,
theft of vehicles) punished with five years’ or less imprisonment, where the accused is
caught red-handed. The purpose of this law is to confront the widely held opinion that
street crime goes unpunished in Spain and it takes years to see delinquents in court, by
3
4
www.boe.es, www.reicaz.es (12-11-2003)
BOE 156, 1 July 2003, www.boe.es
14
which time it is almost impossible to prove their guilt. The new measures were introduced
by Law 38/2002, of 24 October, which reforms the Criminal Procedure Act5 Other
relevant laws that address the reform of the Criminal Procedure Act are Organic Law
8/2002, of 24 October6 and the Regulatory Agreement 2/2003, of 26 February, of the
General Council of the Judicial Power7.
Still awaiting publication are a further reform of the Criminal Procedure Act, on the
subject of remand, and the reform of the Law on Criminal Responsibility of Minors. With
respect to the latter, the law currently in force applies to people aged 18 and under,
whereas before the age of full criminal responsibility started at 16. This law has been
heavily criticised throughout, although some critics consider that it has never been given
the opportunity of being properly applied due to lack of funds (newspaper El Mundo, 22
October 2003).
Although the legislation referred to above does not directly address racial violence, it is
nevertheless of interest given that its aim is to prevent crime and promote safety and it
will also obviously apply to any foreigners who are accused of committing crimes in
Spain.
3.5.
CASE LAW
The case law relating to racial violence is scarce. On the one hand, only the most violent
forms of crime, such as homicides, assassinations and grievous bodily harm are heard by
the higher courts, the only ones whose judgments are published. On the other, only
serious crimes are reported by the media. Therefore, there is little case law relating to
non-violent but humiliating or vexatious treatment inflicted upon immigrants or persons
with an ethnic minority background which are motivated by racism or xenophobia. These
cases either never make it to the courts of justice or they are tried in the lower courts and
are not reported.
The study of judgments issued in 2002 and 2003 has proved negative when searching for
cases relating to the application of sections 510, 511 or 512 of the Criminal Code.
However, it is not infrequent for the behaviour punished in section 511 to take place, even
if the victims do not always report it to the police or file a claim against the perpetrator.
By way of example, let us refer to a piece of news published on 15 July 2003, relating to
a situation reported by a group of gypsy women who were denied access to a municipal
pool in the town of Linares, in Jaen, on account of their being gypsies.
Only one judgment has been found where the aggravating circumstance of section 22.4
has been found to exist:
Judgment of the Audiencia Provincial of Lerida, dated 13 September 2002, number
606/2002, rollo 189 (Ref. Bosch BDB AP Lérida 27069/2002). The case is one of theft
with violence in which the aggravating circumstance is found to exist because, “as it is
clear from the declarations made by the victim, the persons who attacked him told him
5
6
7
BOE 258, 28 October 2002, www.boe.es
BOE 258, 28 October 2002, www.boe.es
BOE 59, 10 March 2003
15
that he was a ‘moro’ (moor) and beat him up for that very reason, at the same time as they
shouted at him that he had no right to life and would die, and that is precisely the motive
for this unjustifiable attack”.
To investigate further the application, or lack of application, of this aggravating
circumstance, we have searched for earlier judgments, but found only one passed in 2001,
which considered racial discrimination as an aggravating circumstance. Nonetheless, in
Section 7 we refer to more recent cases where it has been found to apply.
The Judgment of the Audiencia Provincial of the Balearic Islands, dated 11 June 2001,
number 53/2001 (Ref. Bosch BDB AP Baleares 25360/2001) considers whether the
aggravating circumstance of racism existed at the time, but decided against it. The matter
relates to a dispute between a drug supplier and his black client which resulted in the
death of the black man. The tribunal considered that although the perpetrator of the
homicide called his victim ‘puto negro’ (fucking black) and ‘negro de patera’ (referring to
immigrants who arrive by boat in precarious conditions in the South of Spain), these were
hurtful comments which were part of the dispute, but not its objective or purpose.
Some cases are not reported in Law Reports, but referred to in the press. A few examples
follow:
15/07/2003 Base
A man has been charged with racism (an offence against public freedoms) for denying
access to family of gypsies to the local swimming pool. The man in charge of issuing the
tickets denied access to three gypsy women and their seven children. According to the
police, access was denied to them exclusively on account of their being gypsies.
05/09/2003 El País -Barcelona
A 31 year-old man who had been sentenced to 26 years in jail for the assassination in
1991 of a French supporter of the football team Espanyol and served 9 of them was again
arrested, together with two other boixos nois (hooligans who support the football team
Barça), for attacking two Moroccans on the day of the Gamper trophy in the football
stadium Camp Nou. The boixos justified the attack on the grounds that the victims were
wearing a shirt with the name ‘Raul’, a player in the rival team. The judge remanded on
bail the three attackers on the grounds that the injuries caused to their victims were not
serious. It remains to be determined whether the attackers, all of whom have a criminal
record including drugs, theft and robbery, will be tried for a crime or a minor offence.
14/06/2003 Valencia
A head-waiter and a porter of the disco ‘Cerebro’ have been sentenced to a one year job
suspension for denying access to a client on account of his being a gypsy. The tribunal
has found them guilty of committing a crime against the fundamental rights and public
freedoms.
16
06/06/2003 Valencia
A jury has found Richard P. M. guilty of the stabbing to death of two Algerian citizens.
The jury did not consider that the aggravating circumstance of xenophobia applied in this
case.
27/03/2003 Madrid, EFE Madrid
The Supreme Court has confirmed the sentence passed by a lower court of justice in
Madrid whereby two men and two women were sentenced in 1997 to two years
imprisonment for beating up with canes and a metal rod an Egyptian man who sold
flowers, at the same time as they chased him shouting ‘get the moro’. In June 2001, the
Court in Madrid sentenced the attackers to two years imprisonment for the grievous
bodily harm caused with the aggravating circumstances of abuse of power and racist
motivation of the attack. On appeal, the accused alleged that the aggravating
circumstance of racism was incorrectly taken into account, but the Supreme Court has
confirmed that the attack was specifically motivated by the racial origin of the victim.
4.
THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL
APPROACH FOR ANALYSING DATA
In preparing this report it has been considered necessary to distinguish between violence
in general, meaning that which is not motivated by racist hatred or xenophobia, even if
either the perpetrators or the victims are immigrants or Spanish with an ethnic minority
background, and racial or xenophobic violence, understanding by it racially motivated or
xenophobic attacks. Indeed, there are many cases where it is not possible to determine
whether a racial motive exists or not, as it happens when both the aggressor and the
victim are foreigners. As an example, of the more than 90 violent deaths in Madrid since
the beginning of 2003, it is estimated that over half have been cases of revenge killings or
score settling amongst foreigners or drug related, rather than racist or xenophobic attacks.
When talking about ‘racial violence’ we have referred to violent acts motivated by the
victim’s purported race or national origin. When talking about ‘violence’, we include
physical attacks as well as insults, social exclusion, offences, vexatious behaviour
towards immigrants by the mere fact of their being foreign.
This report refers to acts of racial violence and the way in which they have been reported
by the media. It also refers to trends in public opinion and about the link that some sectors
in society and in politics establish between immigration and crime.
The report further comments on the legal provisions aimed at tackling racial violence and
the application of the law by the courts of justice, thereby updating what is already
mentioned in the 2002 Racial Violence report. In this respect, it is important to highlight
the difficulties encountered in trying to paint a complete picture of the legal and judicial
scene as there are no reports specifically dealing with this subject and because many
cases of less severe racial violence are never tried in a court of law.
17
Sources of information
To prepare this report we have accessed the following sources of information:
Firstly, we have analysed public opinion expressed in polls, surveys and commentary
made by citizens. We have either been able to consult the reports themselves or, in the
majority of cases, the information has been collected through press reports, newspapers,
television and radio bulletins. References to specific cases of racial violence have been
collected from the written press and, occasionally, from legal reports.
We have also considered the reports prepared by Amnesty International8, the
Ombudsman9, the Centre for Sociological Investigations10 and other groups, such as the
charitable organisations Caritas11, SOS Racismo12, Movement against Intolerance13,
Unión Romaní14, as well as articles and commentaries prepared by lawyers and other
multidisciplinary teams.
With respect to the legal regulation of crimes relating to xenophobia, racism,
discrimination and the different criminal forms that they take, we have analysed the legal
texts themselves (the Spanish Constitution and the Criminal Code).
The report also considers the two legal initiatives which more closely relate to the
punishment of racial violence in Spain: the reform of the Criminal Code and the
initiatives for the reform of the Law regulating the criminal responsibility of minors. An
effort has been made to describe these pieces of legislation and to evaluate some of their
potential consequences, reflecting on some of the criticisms that have been voiced against
them by various groups involved with immigrants.
The report on racial violence does not consider the reform of the Law on Foreign Status,
which is analysed in detail in the legislation report.
With respect to trials and court orders, we have analysed the case law of the last two
years, but as it is pointed out above, cases brought to court are scarce and the absence of a
systematic classification of the trials by reference to the subject matter makes it very
difficult to determine when a case of racial violence is being tried. The information on
case law has been obtained from the databases published by Aranzadi and Bosch, access
to which is possible on payment of a licence fee, except for the most recent cases,
information on which has been obtained in the press.
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
www.a-i.es
www.defensordelpueblo.es
www.cis.es
www.caritas.es
www.sosracisme.org , www.sosracismo.org
www.movimientocontralatolerancia.com
www.unionromani.org
18
5.
DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS OF EXISTING
AND NON-EXISTING DATA AND SOURCES
To get an accurate idea of the situation we are analysing in this report, we have first
selected some data on how Spanish people perceive immigrants. We then consider, as far
as reliable information is available, the number of foreigners who have settled in Spain
agains the background of the shair of immigrants currently in prison (prison data
published in 2002). To complete the picture, we have referred to the legislation applying
to foreigners and to the legislative initiatives currently underway; we have also referred to
opinions and reports issued by specialists and a variety of reports published by authorised
institutions. Finally, we have selected pieces of news published in a variety of Spanish
newspapers from January to October 2003.
5.1.
STATISTICS
One of the documents we have analysed is the ‘Barometro del CIS’, a monthly report
published by the Centre for Sociological Investigations. In an effort to determine what are
the problems, that, according to those interviewed, have been the main source of concern
for Spain in general and for those interviewed in particular throughout 2003, we have
considered the surveys of the months of January, March, June, July and September.
These reports indicate that crime is considered to be the third most important problem for
Spain in general, with unemployment and terrorism taking the first and second places.
However, when those interviewed were asked whether they felt personally affected by
these problems, crime became the second most important source of concern, after
unemployment, and terrorism became relatively unimportant.
With respect to immigration, only 15% of those interviewed consider it as one of the
three most important problems for Spain and half of those feel personally affected by it.
When asked about racism, only 0.7% consider it one of the three most important
problems in Spain and less than half (0.3%) feel personally affected.
The Barometro of June 2003, focused on the subject of crime, shows that very few of the
interviewees (1.8%) associate crime and immigration and the majority refer to terrorism
and crime as the most important problems. When asked about the frequency with which
xenophobic or racist incidents take place in their neighbourhood, 3% replied that very
frequently, 9% quite frequently, 25.3% not very frequently and 55.5% almost never.
However, the poll carried out by ‘Sigma – dos’ in the Autonomous Community of
Madrid, and published in the journal El Mundo on 19 October 2003, reflects, amongst
others, the following facts:
48% of the interviewees believe that illegal immigration has had an impact on the
increase in crime in the area; 36.9% believe that it has a big impact and 10%, on the
contrary, think it has had a small impact. In their view, the second source of crime is
drugs. 47% replied that drugs have a great influence on crime and 42.6% believe that they
are closely related. Another factor deemed to be related to violence is poverty. 25% think
19
that it is very closely related and 39% believe that it is quite related. Only 14% consider
that unemployment is the cause of crime in the streets, whereas 36% believe that
unemployment impacts on crime (rather than being its cause). About 190.000 residents in
Madrid are registered as unemployed.
The statistics15 show that the number of foreigners in Spain has greatly increased in the
last twenty years. Until 1999, the increase in immigration was moderate, but since then to
date, the rise in immigrants has been striking. In 1981 the number of foreigners resident
in Spain was 198,042, 801,329 in 1999 and 1,448,671 in June 2003 (about 3.75 to 4% of
the total population). The prison population in Spain in 2002 was 50,031 of which more
than one fifth were foreigners16.
We have no knowledge of whether any statistics or graphs have been produced and made
publicly available that specifically analyse racial violence and crime. We have not had
access to statistics on crime kept by the Ministry of Interior.
5.2.
LEGAL TEXTS
The Constitution and the Criminal Code are analysed in detail in Section 5.
We also refer to legal, procedural and penitentiary initiatives that may shed some
light on the issue and the rules and regulations aimed at tackling violence, in all its forms,
for the prevention of marginalisation and crime.
5.3.
CASE LAW
We have analysed some judgments issued by the higher courts in relation to crimes
committed against foreigners and have already referred to them in Section 5. The pieces
of news included in the pages that follow refer to other judgments in which the
aggravating circumstance of racism and xenophobia are found to apply.
5.4.
REPORTS
We have considered the reports published by Amnesty International in November 2002
and March 2003 as well as the commentary made about them. The annual report confirms
that xenophobia is on the increase. We have also taken into account the Ombudsman’s
report.
In October, the Institute for Studies on Security and Police reported a serious increase on
the number of violent crimes committed by youths, which has multiplied by five between
1992 and 2002.
15
16
Annual Statistics on foreign status 2002, July 2003 -www.mir.es/dgei/documentos/Anuario
Immigration and xenophobia in cultural and religious institutions, Beristain Piña, Antonio, La
Ley, Daily 5660, 21 November 2002.
20
2002 REPORT ISSUED BY THE DEFENSOR DEL PUEBLO (THE OMBUDSMAN)17
Amongst various other matters, the 2002 Ombudsman’s report deals with the following
issues:
It shows great concern about the increase in racist and xenophobic attacks in Spain. The
various events reported have been analysed with the objective of trying to determine to
what extent the violence is caused by racist, ethnic or national background motives. In
this respect, the report states that there are serious difficulties to clearly separate racist
motives from other factors which are generally present in certain environments, such as
massive alcohol consumption or, in other cases, extreme poverty.
The report also mentions that in many cases the persons implicated in the violent events
refuse to acknowledge that their behaviour is motivated by racial prejudice. Rather, other
motives such as the difference of cultures, hygienic habits, timetables and noise, which
would make it difficult to live together are often mentioned. It is extremely complex to
consider these matters in depth, but there is no doubt that these domestic conflicts
seriously undermine all chances of peaceful coexistence.
During 2002 a number of incidents were reported relating to the set up or opening of
places of worship, which have caused the Ombudsman some concern on at least two
grounds: firstly, because it affects a fundamental freedom (freedom of religion) and,
secondly, because opposition to these religious centres is normally at the heart of groups
which, more or less overtly, support clearly xenophobic ideas.
On the positive side, the report has highlighted the powerful role undertaken by audiovisual companies in the informal way in which they are promoting education to the
masses.
The Ombudsman reflects on the precarious conditions of the internment centres for
immigrants, which had been reported before, and includes de government’s response
which includes the proposal to update existing facilities as well as the construction of
various new centres with more and better facilities. The updating and improvement of
several centres has, according to the report, already been accomplished. A specific point
of action has been the creation of centres where families of immigrants with young
children can live together. Whilst welcoming the improvements, the Ombudsman
continues to reflect on the fact that these internment centres, which are more akin to
prisons, are not an adequate place to keep immigrants who are not accused of committing
crimes and, therefore, have not been deprived of their rights. Nonetheless, some centres,
such as the one in Barcelona, continue to be a source of numerous complaints on account
of the severe restrictions on movement imposed upon interns and the tensions that this
causes.
The Ombudsman’s report also condemns the practice of notifying decisions at such a late
stage that immigrants are unable to seek legal protection in the courts for failing to meet
deadlines and reports on several cases where access to legal advice has been denied to
immigrants. Particular attention is paid to a case in Melilla where a whole family,
17
http://www.defensordelpueblo.es/index.asp?destino=informes2.asp , last accessed on 22
January 2004.
21
regularly resident in that city, were subjected to an expulsion process on account of their
minor children having been found guilty of violent and criminal actions, an expulsion
process that the Ombudsman considers totally unjustified.
5.5.
PRESS
The news collected in the press between January and October 2003 could be classified in
various sections. On the one hand, there is news referring to specific cases of racial
violence, such as attacks on immigrants or ethnic minorities. The media have informed on
the most notorious cases and, when heard in the courts of justice, on the judgments
passed. On the other hand, there is violence related to sport and related to xenophobic
feelings. Lastly, the news reports on the comments made by politicians during the
electoral campaigns celebrated in 2003. We have selected some pieces of news that refer
to the most brutal cases of racial violence. Some are included below, others have been
inserted in sections where they helped illustrate other comments made.
21/10/03 El Mundo (newspaper)
In October, the police arrested three neo-nazis who were planning a ‘punishment action’
with cocktails Molotov. The youths belong to an organised group in the city of Valladolid
and information found included references to immigration. A self-denominated ‘Raza
Politico-Militar” group had a postal box also in Valladolid. Their web page was used to
attack gypsies and call for weapons and explosives.
The 2002 Report on Racial Violence reported on the ‘Maremagnum crime”, that has
greatly impacted on public opinion. The case concerns the killing of Mr Wilson Pacheco,
a man from Ecuador, who was denied access to a disco by the door keepers and after
being severely beaten was thrown into the sea, where he drowned. The video recording
the brutal beating has been shown on various occasions on most television channels. The
trial, heard by a jury in October, found that the attackers had not acted motivated by racist
or xenophobic feelings, even though the videos recorded comments of that nature.
8/09/2003 El País (newspaper) Catalonia
The police have arrested nine ‘skinhead’ youths who were physically attacking people
and making xenophobic comments against them, particularly if their victims were not
white. Three people reported to the police that they had been physically attacked by those
who had been detained.
24/09/2003 El País (newspaper) Madrid
The Police Headquarters have informed that a 30 year-old man has been arrested on
suspicion of physical attacks and xenophobic and racist acts. The crimes were reported by
two Moroccan brothers and the wife of one of them, of Chilean origin. According to the
police report, the young man who attacked, threatened and insulted them shouted insults
such as “go back to your fucking country” or “bastards”. The man had been arrested on
numerous occasions for similar offences. He had also been detained on 4 March, together
with a group of hooligans, for carrying neo-nazi articles and magazines at the time of the
Bayer Leverkusen against Real Madrid football match.
22
11/09/2003 El País (newspaper) Andalusia-Malaga,
A mosque has been covered with the following graffiti: “More than 19 centuries of
Christian faith. No mosque in a Christian neighbourhood. Blessed be the blood of the
thousands of mozarab Christian martyrs who fell victim of the radical intolerance of AlAndalus and subsequent Taifa kingdoms” (Taifa kings were the Moorish kings who ruled
part of Spain after the breaking up of the caliphate of Cordova in 1031).
14/08/2003 Catalonia
The local police of Girona have arrested a 34 year-old man accused of having thrown
inflammable liquid against the front door of a mosque in the city. The man arrested, who
resides in Girona, has a criminal record. This is the fourth attack on the mosque in three
years.
07/07/2003 Madrid
In a letter to the editor, a resident in Madrid complained about the violence and the
damages caused in the metro by a group of violent South Americans. Apparently, the
security guards did nothing to stop the group of violent men or to demand that they repair
or pay for the damage caused. The writer comments that this is a case of discrimination
against the local population, stating “... and I am sure that if these [violent] actions had
been perpetrated by a Spaniard, the security guards would have reacted quite differently.
However, there are certain acquired rights, even if there is no law to grant them, that
many immigrants are claiming for themselves”.
03/06/2003 El País (newspaper) Andalusia
A group of men have been arrested for killing an immigrant and thrashing another two on
Easter Thursday. All the men arrested have long criminal records including grievous
bodily harm and robbery and lived in a poor and marginalised district in the South West
of Huelva. Never, until the morning of Easter Thursday, had they attacked immigrants
before. The government’s representative in Huelva, Carmelo San Martín, has dismissed
the claim that the aggressors, who covered their heads with hoods and were armed with
sticks, were part of an organised band and points out that their motivation was to attack
defenceless people. The Association of Moroccan Workers and Immigrants in Spain
(ATIME, in its Spanish acronym) has brought to the light similar attacks on foreigners in
the same part of town, but the government insists that these are acts of general violence
and attacks on those who are defenceless [as opposed to racist attacks].
16/05/2003 Catalonia
A group of skinheads killed a young man from the Maghreb in a district of Terrassa on 3
May. All political parties were unanimous in their condemnation of the killing, which
has shocked the neighbourhood.
16/05/2003 Catalonia
The public prosecutor has asked that the five youths accused of beating up two men from
Gambia be sentenced to 18 years imprisonment for grievous bodily harm with the
23
aggravating circumstance of racism. The private prosecutor asks for 25 years
imprisonment.
04/05/2003 Catalonia
The Public Prosecution Service in Lleida has asked that Mateo Figuerola Niubó,
candidate for mayor in the town of Cervera with the extreme right-wing party Plataforma
per Catalonia, be fined with €6,480 if found guilty of the damages caused to a mosque
and a Muslim butcher’s shop in the town.
30/04/2003 Valencia
SOS Racismo denounces that there has been an increase in the mafias dedicated to
exploiting immigrant women and workers. According to the recently published annual
report prepared by SOS Racismo in Valencia, the activities of these organised networks
have substantially increased during 2001 and 2002. SOS Racismo highlighted the lack of
legal assistance to stowaways arriving in the ports of Valencia. Of all the xenophobic
offences reported to the police, 44.3% were related to immigration and legal status issues,
23.8% referred to fundamental rights, 11.77% were racist attacks, 4.5% social racism,
3.7% were neo-nazi activities, 1.5% were violent acts against minors and 1.2% were
violent attacks against gypsies.
28/04/2003 Andalusia
The Chairman of ATIME, Association of Moroccan Workers and Immigrants in Spain,
Mr Kamal Rahmouni (born in Tetuan in 1970), has brought to light a number of events
that had been so far silenced even thought they took place before the assassination of a
Moroccan man in Huelva. Rahmouni claims that there is an increasing rejection of the
immigrant arriving from North Africa, the ‘moro’ (moor), and this results from the
commentary made by the president of the government, José María Aznar, or the president
of Catalonia, Jordi Pujol, who defended their decision [to employ East European
immigrants to collect strawberries in preference to Moroccans] on the grounds of religion
and race which, they said, would contribute to the integration [of immigrants into
society]. It is obvious that the more conflictive areas are those where there are more
immigrants. In Andalusia there are more than 100,000 legal immigrants and about 70,000
to 80,0000 illegal immigrants, therefore, politicians are responsible because small
incidents can grow out of proportion. Immigration matters cannot be sorted out with the
stick.
22/03/2003 Catalonia
SOS Racismo has noted an increase in the number of cases of ill-treatment of immigrants.
With the imminent arrival of the local elections campaign, SOS Racismo has alerted
against the ‘dangerous spiral’ of declarations made by politicians which make a
connection between immigration and crime or who warn that the arrival of foreigners is a
threat to the ‘Catalonian identity’. SOS Racismo has asked all political parties not to look
for votes in this type of speech, highlighting the number of cases of violence against
immigrants that have been reported to the police. SOS Racismo has reported that it
received 35 such complaints during last year. The charity has also reported an increase in
the number of cases of ill-treatment towards immigrants by the police. Besides the above,
24
SOS Racismo has insisted on the need once and for all to end the discrimination
encountered by foreigners when trying to enter leisure centres and referred the numerous
incidents of this nature that have taken place in the Maremagnum complex in Barcelona
which, in spite of the “guilty judgment passed against the company Odisea 2000 has
never acknowledged that there were cases of discrimination”.
19/03/2003 Valencia
The Public Prosecution Service has decided to shelve the complaint filed by the ‘Green
Left’ party against the mayor of the town of Almoradi, Antonio Hurtado, on account of
his “xenophobic and racist comments” that were recorded and made public. The order
issued by the Public Prosecutor states that the declarations attributed to Mr Hurtado were
“not made in public, but recorded by a hidden camera and made available to the press,
and they relate to a private conversation made public by third parties”. As can be heard on
tape, on 25 February, the mayor of Almoradi accused a businessman of selling a house to
a gypsy. Hurtado then said that he was going to shut down “as many businesses run by
‘moros’ as possible” and suggested a singular solution to stop illegal immigration: “place
a row of frigates in the straight and fire a missile against any boat with immigrants that
may pass by”.
07/03/2003 El País Barcelona
The Catalonian police have arrested three young skinheads suspected of knifing a young
man from North Africa in the tube in Barcelona. The events took place on a Saturday.
Two of the men arrested were over 18 years old and have been sent to prison. According
to the police, one of the attackers, Jaime C.D. “has links with extreme right and fascist
groups”.
28/02/2003 Andalusia
Caritas has reported an attack against poor people in Jerez by a group of youths.
According to the declarations made by the victims, the looks of the aggressors suggested
that they were not members of any gang but were clearly motivated by racist and
xenophobic feelings, as most of the victims were foreign. Movimiento contra la
Intolerancia (Movement against Intolerance) has offered help to the victims.
18/02/2003 Valencia
Six people have been arrested for setting houses on fire where gypsies live. They have
been accused of racism.
08/01/2003 Andalusia
According to researchers, Spanish society continues to be racist, although their attitude is
expressed in a more subtle way than a few years ago. Research carried out by the
University of Granada shows that the majority of those who were questioned believe that
gypsies and immigrants are to blame for their own social exclusion and lack of
employment. The four-year research undertaken by the Department of Social Psychology
of the University of Granada has helped to show that the prejudice and racism felt
towards certain races or groups is still latent in society, but it has undergone important
25
changes. “We now have new and more subtle forms of racism. People are unwilling
openly to admit that they are prejudiced, so they show their feelings by contrasting their
values against those of the other groups”, explained Miguel Moya, who has co-ordinated
the studies, which are part of the National Plan D+I. The people interviewed do not
describe immigrants or gypsies as delinquents, but they do attribute them certain cultural
and religious differences and other values that would justify their exclusion from the
employment market. Mr Moya added that “it is easier to reject someone by exaggerating
the cultural differences and ignoring the similarities. The different values are used to
justify the racist attitude”.
09/11/2003 El Mundo
The Ombudsman and the Defender of Minors have criticised the policy that requires
children to prove resident status before they are allowed to play football with official
associations. SOS Racismo has also criticised that in Spain some immigrant children are
unable to join the federated leagues because they do not have a residence permit.
5.6.
WEB SITES
The web sites www.boe.es, www.aranzadi.es, www.reicaz.es, www.mir.es have been and
continue to be monitored on a daily basis. The remaining web sites were last checked on
or about 20 November 2003, prior to submitting the report, but have been checked on
various occasions subsequently.
6.
ANALYSIS OF STRATEGIES, INITIATIVES AND
GOOD PRACTICIES FOR REDUCING RACISM
AND SUPPORTING DIVERSITY
This section refers to initiatives undertaken by independent groups, the public
administration and certain charitable organisations aimed at tackling racism and
encouraging social diversity.
One of the main problems that immigrant have to confront is the absence of a work
permit to have access to employment in secure conditions and with pay equivalent to that
which a Spaniard would be prepared to work for. The absence of papers promotes abuse
and illegal and insecure working conditions. For instance, of the deaths caused by
accidents at work in the Community of Madrid during 2003, 50% were foreigners even
though the proportion of immigrants to Spanish natives is well below that figure. To fight
employers who take advantage of foreigners, the fines imposed upon those found guilty
of employing illegal immigrants have been substantially increased. However, this is a
double edged sword, because it does not encourage better work conditions among all
immigrants, even if it contributes to protect those who are legally resident and working in
Spain.
26
The representative of the association of strawberry growers in Huelva commented in
January 2003 that following the problems encountered when East Europeans were
employed to pick strawberries, leaving unemployed many Moroccans who had been
previously employed in this activity, a meeting had been arranged with the Andalusian
Government’s delegate, a central government delegate, unions and business
representatives during which important solutions were found.
During 2003, the government offices have designed and applied new policies aimed at
establishing in certain areas settlements of immigrant population. In turn, the integration
of immigrants into society has been mostly fostered by cultural and religious associations
and groups.
Amongst the non-governmental organisations, it is important to highlight the role played
by the charity Caritas, which declared in Barcelona that it will be thoroughly engaged in
educating society and raising awareness on immigration issues. Caritas is aware that, as
an organisation and to an extent, it does not always observe the law and says that people
are not ‘illegal’, but they simply lack the necessary papers. To have access to health and
education immigrants simply need to register with the Barcelona city council and in
Caritas they will help them find employment which must necessarily be in illegal
conditions, although Caritas will aim to provide them with private insurance. Caritas is
deeply involved in helping immigrants arriving in Spain and are outspoken in opposing
any suggestion that immigration and crime may be related. The following piece of news
was published in El País on 08/10/2003: The “increase in xenophobia” was one of the
main topics addressed by the new chairwoman of the charitable organisation Caritas,
Nuria Gispert. “The words which are being drilled into society are the false statement that
immigration and crime go hand in hand. We have noticed that there has been an increase
in the rejection suffered by immigrants”, said Silverio Agea, who has been re-elected as
Secretary General of Caritas. “It must be clearly said that immigration does not mean
invasion, it does not take our jobs away, it does not mean delinquency. Immigration is a
need for those people who come here and the future of Spain. Caritas believes that it is
necessary to control immigration and impose quotas. But once they are here, it must be
clearly stated that the Gospel does not say anything about papers”.
Similarly involved is SOS Racismo, which as reported in the press on 16/05/2003
Catalonia, as one of the organisations that work with immigrants that have asked for a
more rigorous application of policies against xenophobia. The association SOS Racismo
has complained that the minor racist incidents which took place in the neighbourhood of
Can'Anglada were perpetrated with total impunity. This anti-racist association has
criticised the lack of effective solutions and practical policies to promote peaceful
coexistence in Catalonia. “There is no legal framework to guarantee equality and there is
a lack of social resources”, explained Begoña Sanchez, one of the spokespersons for the
organisation. For SOS Racismo, "the gangs of skinheads are the most apparent form of
racism that is settling in Europe, a fact that we believe is directly linked with the growth
in Europe and in Spain of extreme right wing parties and the influence that these are
having in other sectors”.
The impact of immigration and the consequences of racism have once again brought to
the light an ever present subject in Spanish society: the discrimination against the gypsies.
The press have closely followed an event in which a gypsy family was denied access to a
public swimming pool in a town in Andalusia for the simple reason that they were
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gypsies. The victims reported the event to the police and have been supported in their
claim by the Federation of Cultural Christian Associations of Andalusia (FACCA). Mr
Luis Guillermo Cortés, the regional director of FACCA stated that “this is a
consummated offence of racism and it is not the first time that access has been denied in
this place to persons of gypsy origin”. He believes that there are enough reasons to close
down the pool. The Andalusian Ombudsman, who was asked to consider the matter by
FACCA, stated that the event was an absolute barbarity. The government’s representative
in Andalusia condemned all acts of a xenophobic nature.
The Cultural Week in Fuenlabrada (Madrid) against Racism and Xenophobia was loaded
with activities. Under the motto “Fuenlabrada, a city for integration” the city town hall18
invited the Chinese, Arab and gypsy communities settled in the town with the objective of
“educating the younger and raising awareness among the older on tolerance and respect
for others”. A debate was celebrated to discuss the subject of the coexistence of the
Chinese community in Madrid and the event ended with a culinary oriental feast. Other
activities included a photographic exhibition organised by the gypsy association Clan
Caló and the first anti-racist comic competition, in which children and young people aged
between 6 an 18 were awarded prizes. The week presented the first Nelson Mandela film
festival and showed films such as Bwana, Cry Freedom, Life is Beautiful or Schindler’s
list. The social services councillor explained that the objective of the week was to prevent
racist and xenophobic attitudes using various tools such as film projection; they are
interested in hearing everyone’s opinion about a social subject as important as
immigration which is imposing fast changes in society.
In March (2003), in the city of Madrid, SOS Racismo showed three films a day in a
bookshop (FNAC) to raise awareness about racial discrimination amongst citizens.
Additionally, SOS Racismo has called on political parties to extend voting rights in local
elections to non-EU citizens. “We want to know when they will be granted [voting] rights
that they should be able to exercise in Spain in the same conditions as EU citizens”.
In Almería, the education centres have taken part in a municipal campaign to raise
awareness against racism an xenophobia. The campaign, entitled “This is the way we
are”, has been launched by the Social Services department of the town hall of Almeria
and has the support of the Government Council. Its aim is that the various schools and
other social and neighbourhood associations should engage in activities focused on
promoting understanding and tolerance. The project has been well accepted by many
groups and associations, explained the Social Services Councillor, Ms Arancha
Locubiche. The first to join in where the city schools, followed by the adult education
centres. “Each centre will engage in the activities that they think will be most effective.
We have not imposed anything, the idea being to foster tolerance and promote the fight
against racism by allowing each association to be creative. What we do is to offer means
and resources, such as tools, flyers, stickers, CD-ROM and posters”, explained Ms
Locubiche.
In January, the Barcelona Football Club announced that it would ban access to the Camp
Nou football stadium to people with swastikas, which are some times used by the most
radical sectors of the Boixos Nois (Barça hooligan supporters).
18
www.fuenlabrada.com (10-12-2003)
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In December 2002, twelve Autonomous Communities expressed to the Sports Supreme
Council their wish that all obstacles should be removed that prevent minors from taking
part in federated sporting activities. The legal advisor of the Madrid Sports Federation
rejected the accusation that they had denied the constitutional right to practising sport,
because foreigners who do not have a residence permit may take part in municipal team
sports and practise sport in their free time. However, he said, “federated sports are
regulated by the law and certain conditions must be met”.
Patrick Gasser, in charge of the campaign “UEFA against racism in football stadiums”,
has urged football clubs to break away from violent groups. During the launch of the
“Guide of good practices against racism”, he said that “the Spanish league, as one of the
most important leagues in the world, must be directly involved in this matter”.
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7.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
In a context of increasing violence in general in the country, the social rejection of
immigrants and the number of racist attacks have continued to grow during 2003.
Violent racist attacks are generally explained to be due to two factors: on the one hand,
there is a sector in society that fears the changes that immigrants bring with them (a sort
of fear of the unknown or fear of change); this would include the fear of job competition
in the knowledge that immigrants will accept lower wages and worse work conditions,
and the association of immigration and crime. This is mainly a problem of ignorance and
confusion. On the other hand, the fracture of traditional social structures which started
about 20 years ago, has resulted in the formation of groups of marginalised youths whose
main occupation is violence. The arrival of immigrants from poorer countries or in
political turmoil is just another excuse for these relatively young people to focus their
violent hatred. Indeed, the information we have analysed shows that most acts of racial
violence are committed by poor, uneducated young men of between 20 and 30 years of
age.
As Spain has become a country that attracts immigration and there has been an increase in
crime in recent years, there has also been an increase in xenophobic feelings which results
from the idea that immigration and crime go hand in hand.
At the same time as these violent and discriminatory attacks become more frequent, a
number of groups and movements have appeared for the defence and protection of
immigrants. But these organisations are not paid as much attention as would be necessary
to educate society and raise awareness about the need to peacefully coexist with
immigrants. On the other hand, what is indeed widely reported by the media is the
increase in crime, particularly when an immigrant originating from a poor country is
involved.
The facts contrast with the idea that Spaniards have of themselves and of the issues that
they think are most important for the country. For instance, it is generally thought that
crime is one of the most important problems that Spain needs to address, and a large part
of the population feels particularly vulnerable in this respect. However, very few people
think that immigration and racism are a problem in Spain and even fewer would admit to
being racist or contrary to immigration. In fact, the majority of the people say , and
probably believe, that drugs are the most important cause of crime and this is
corroborated by information that suggests that half of the violent deaths which have
occurred in Madrid during 2003 are drug related.
With respect to the solutions put forward to address the problems related to immigration
and xenophobia in Spain, we can identify two radically different approaches: the most
widely extended is that which expects those who arrive from abroad to integrate and
embrace Spanish habits, traditions, language and way of life (assimilation). This proposal
does not expect immigrants totally to abandon their traditions, language and culture, but it
does suggest that these should be observed in private or in an inconspicuous manner, so
that natives do not feel threatened. The less popular approach is that which suggests that
racial and cultural diversity should prevail at all cost and immigrants should continue to
observe and practice all their traditions.
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In between both extremes there are conciliatory positions which propose that both
Spaniards and immigrants need to be flexible and whilst Spaniards have to be flexible and
accepting of cultural and racial diversity, immigrants need to understand and, to a point,
share, the traditions of the country in which they want to settle, observing the laws in
force which, in principle, should not be discriminatory and where they are found so to be,
they can be challenged.
Last but not least, at the period of reporting the Spanish government has persisted in
ignoring the presence of illegal migrants, thereby making them susceptible to abuse and
ill treatment, as well as making it difficult for them to exercise the rights that the Law on
Foreign Status and the Spanish Constitution grants them. Simply stating that those in an
irregular situation are guilty of a serious administrative fault does not sort out a problem
which will continue to grow. This is an area which, if left unattended much longer, might
become a serious source of conflicts.
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